


Cause of Strife

by WeHaveManyNames



Series: Erisverse [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Caline Bustier Bashing, Evil Lila Rossi, Gen, It’s Complicated, Kinda, Lila Rossi Bashing, Neurodivergent Alya Cesaire, Original Sentimonster Character, Protective Kagami Tsurugi, Protective Luka Couffaine, Protective Marc Anciel, Protective Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Scary Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Story takes place after other events, They’re all protective of each other, a prequel will be written eventually, adrien is naive, autism is a bitch, written from experience
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28899474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeHaveManyNames/pseuds/WeHaveManyNames
Summary: Lila's made good on her promise. Marinette only has a small group of friends, her family, and Tikki. Adrien won't help her. She can feel the negativity weighing her down. And when the butterfly comes for her, she finally gives in to Hawk Moth. But akumatizing her was a mistake. Because Eris is out to set things right, and Paris was not ready for her. Written by all of us.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Ladybug (One-sided), Luka Couffaine & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Kagami Tsurugi
Series: Erisverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119449
Comments: 102
Kudos: 330





	1. Genesis

**Author's Note:**

> This is also posted on FanFiction.net (the account is JDunks898), though we have edited some of the text. This story takes place after Lila has proven to be completely and remorselessly evil and has successfully isolated Marinette (and practically brainwashed Alya into loyalty tbh). This should be fun!

Marinette... had had just about the worst day of her life.

Alya, who had left her for Lila’s fanciful stories, had furiously confronted her later that day, accusing her of something she’d done to Lila, the rest of the class backing her up, and worst of all, they’d stolen her sketchbook- which she had important design commissions in!- and torn it apart, stating that she didn’t deserve it after she’d done the whatever it was. Apparently it was easy to believe that she was a bully and a cheat, despite them constantly calling her their ‘Everyday Ladybug’.

When Adrien had found out, he’d gone to talk to her, and she’d though that she’d get some form of reassurance that there was a plan to expose Lila for what she really was.

But Adrien had just... waved it off! “Honestly, Marinette, it’s not a big deal. You can just redo the sketches. Besides, you’re only starting out, you probably weren’t going to get that much anyways. Remember, you can’t expose Lila! We can’t let her be akumatized!”

She normally would’ve confided in Cat Noir, but that option was out the window, thanks to Oblivio. He’d been more and more persistent in getting her to date him. “C’mon, Milady! You saw how quickly we fell in love without anything else in the way! Just forget that other boy you have, he’ll never love you as much as I do, anyway!”

Ms. Bustier had refused to allow her to resign as class president. “Marinette, it is unbelievably selfish that you’d want to quit! You have to set a good example for everyone else, remember? How can you do that if you’re not planning trips and events for the class to enjoy?”

Now she was at home, having to call Jagged about the fact that she wouldn’t be able to get the commission in by the deadline discussed. His acceptance of this was one of the only two good things to happen that day. “Not to worry, Marinette! The show’s been postponed at any rate, Vivica’s lost her guitar and we’re waiting on her aunt to send over her spare. Is an extra week enough for you to work your MDC magic?”

She’d assured him that it was. After all, she was literally rooming with the goddess of good luck and creation.

Her mother knocked on the trapdoor and entered the room. “Marinette, dear? I just thought you’d like to know that we’ve banned your idiot classmates and their families from the bakery.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “What? But won’t you lose business from that?!”

Sabine snorted. “Have you seen how many customers we get on a daily basis? We’ll lose some money, sure, but in the grand scheme of things, it won’t be too bad. Your happiness is our priority, Marinette.”

Her father called for help with said customers. Sabine sighed. “I’ve got to help your father now. Just... please tell us if we can help you, Marinette.”

And with that she descended back into the bakery, leaving Marinette with Tikki.

Marinette groaned and curled up, hiding her face in her arms. “I just don’t know how I’m going to do it, Tikki! I’m trying to push forward and stay positive, but it’s just so hard! No one’s helping me at school, and Ms. Bustier won’t let me do anything that might be defined as leaving the school, because ‘I’m needed to be a good example!’. At this rate, I’m going to end up-“

“Marinette!”

She looked up just in time to see the dark butterfly entering her room. Tikki began to panic. “Marinette, no! Think positive thoughts!”

But Marinette couldn’t. She just couldn’t fight off the akumas any longer.

Being positive was just so... _tiring_.

“I’m sorry, Tikki.”

“What- MARI-“

The kwami vanished, imprisoned in the Miraculous she empowered, helpless to stop the butterfly from making contact with the bracelet on Marinette’s wrist.

Every bit of suppressed negativity Marinette had erupted to the surface. Was this how all akumatization victims felt before they gave in? It was a miracle Chloe had managed to resist Hawk Moth’s offer during the Miraculeur Fiasco.

**_Eris, I am Hawk Moth. Everyone always expects you to be perfect, to do what they want, to put them first no matter what. Well, I’m offering you the chance to put yourself first. You can finally be your first priority, and no one will ever try to control you again. But I’ll need payment for my generosity._ **

Marinette‘s expression was cold as ice. “Ladybug and Cat Noir’s Miraculous.”

_**Smart girl. Well, Eris? Do we have a deal?** _

Marinette briefly considered her options, and smirked darkly. “I agree to your terms.”

A delighted chuckle.

_**Excellent. One more thing. As you’re a fashion designer, I assume you’ll want to create your own costume? Feel free to run wild. Just... please don’t become a fashion disaster. If we’re being honest, Bubbler and Reflekta made me want to vomit.** _

Darkness consumed her, not unlike her normal transformation, but where Tikki was warmth and light and happiness, the akumatization was cold dark smoke, crawling up every inch of her body.

Nevertheless, she _really_ didn’t want to end up a fashion disaster like Bubbler, so...

When the miasma faded, she smiled proudly at her outfit. Her hair was in a single long braid and now touched the floor, her hair ribbons (also blue) carefully woven in for a splash of colour. Her face wasn’t covered by a mask, but by navy blue paint- she wanted her face to be seen, wanted everyone to know that their perfect precious Marinette was the one tearing them down.

Her actual clothing was simple, but it suited her purposes. A black tank top with purple stripes and a blue butterfly symbol on the back. Black wrist armor and greaves were sported as well as dark blue sweatpants, and a heavy-looking-but-actually-alarmingly-light weapon was sheathed at her waist, looking somewhere between broadsword and rapier.

She looked just as powerful and dangerous as she felt.

The butterfly mask flashed back into place. _**Very nice, Eris. I must leave you for the night now. Feel free to wreak havoc- goodness knows you deserve to let loose a little.**_

The mask faded, and there was silence. Then she smirked. She finally knew the allure of Hawk Moth’s power, why so much of Paris had given in to him.

To bad that she hadn’t. Marinette may have broken, but her mind was still her own. Well, in a sense, at any rate.

Regardless, she had some things to take care of, and with Hawk Moth gone for the night, it was a perfect time to do so.

Eris carefully picked up her Miraculous and slipped in into her pocket. “Sorry, Hawk Moth. But there’s no way I’ll let you hurt Tikki. You will never have this Miraculous.”

She opened the trapdoor up to her balcony. The night air was refreshingly chilly on her skin.

She sprang down to the empty streets below, doing her absolute best to stay out of sight. It wouldn’t do for an akuma alert to go out before she was ready to make her first appearance, after all.

…

Master Fu had been having a nice, quiet evening. A small dinner with the jasmine tea that Wayzz loved, a book in a comfortable chair before going to sleep.

Then Marinette walked in the door, most definitely akumatized. “Marinette?”

The girl smirked. “It’s Eris now, Master. All that negativity that Marinette’s been bottling up for so long.”

She stretched out her arms. “The poor girl needs a break. Who better to take the wheel for a while then herself?”

Fu got into a fighting stance. “I will not allow you to steal the rest of the Miraculous! Wayzz, Shell- urk!”

Any intimidation the akumatized girl possessed was immediately dropped. Eris dashed over to steady him. “Woah, careful! Honestly, Master, you know you’re too old to safely transform! Besides, why on earth would I give the Miraculous to Hawk Moth?”

Fu hadn’t been expecting that. “You are akumatized. You mean to tell me that you have no intention of turning the Miraculous over to Hawk Moth?”

Eris snorted. “I literally just said I’m Marinette’s negativity. You really think that any part of Marinette would willingly obey Hawk Moth?”

“Good point.” Fu sighed. “I am responsible for this.”

Eris’s eyes widened in horror. “What? Master, no! You can’t blame yourself for this!”

“I gave you the Miraculous, forcing you into a war against Hawk Moth. I chose to train you as a Guardian, placing even more stress and burden on your shoulders. I did not investigate when Cat Noir became more persistent in his flirting. I did not try to change his behaviour when he began to harass you.”

Eris shook her head. “Counterargument. You gave me the power to fight a supervillain, plus Tikki, who’s always been a friend to me. You entrusted me with the secrets of the Miraculous. And you’re an old man! What were you going to do, have Wayzz steal Cat Noir’s ring?”

“...I never said I had an _ideal_ contingency plan...”

“Master, you have trusted me, had faith in my capabilities, and always had a kind word for me. That’s more than I can say for people who have known me for almost ten years! ...not counting Alya and Adrien, they’re new, but regardless!”

She shook her head. “I refuse to allow you to doubt yourself like this. No matter your mistakes, Master, you’re the only Guardian I’d ever want on my side.”

Fu was quiet, before chuckling. “Even as an akuma, you build people up to be the best of themselves.”

Eris smiled. Then she gasped. “Oh, I nearly forgot!”

She pulled out the box holding the Ladybug Miraculous. “I know I said I wouldn’t give this to Hawk Moth, but I still don’t think it’s safe with me. You should probably hold onto it for the time being.”

Fu nodded and accepted the box. “You know Cat Noir will try to stop you.”

“He will. And you’ll have to help him. But he won’t be able to defeat me. I’ll take his Miraculous away, and he’ll never be able to hurt me again.”

She began to make her exit, braid waving behind her, before Fu called her one more time. “Eris. What do you intend to do?”

Eris was silent for a moment. “Chloe Bourgeois, Hawk Moth, Lila Rossi, and now almost everyone else. Marinette’s been facing bullying on all sides for too long, from too many people.”

She clenched her fist, each name causing her anger to grow. “Nino’s a fool. Alya’s a traitor. Adrien’s a coward. Ms. Bustier’s an enabler at best. My classmates are sheep without brain cells.”

She turned to gaze at him, and her bluebell eyes flashed violet with rage. “Lila made good on her promise. She took all Marinette’s friends away. So it’s time for her to learn a very, very important lesson; You don’t mess with Marinette. You don’t mess with Ladybug. And you sure as heck don’t mess with _me!_ ”

She spun on her heel and exited the room, her fingers beginning to glow with amethyst light.

Paris would never know what hit it.

…

Her phone buzzed as she re-entered her room. She smiled at the texts from some of the only friends she had left.

**Jagged Junior: Hey, Mari. Sorry I haven’t been in touch, Vivica’s been helping me with my recordings. Not much else she can do with her guitar stolen.**

**I Studied The Blade: I’m still at a loss for how that can even happen. Marinette, if you have the time, Mother would like to commission something.**

**Marc: Oh, lucky, Marinette! First Audrey Bourgeois, then Jagged Stone, and now Tomoe Tsurugi! Your career’s gonna skyrocket!**

Eris laughed. It had been tough for her friends lately, especially with how Lila had managed to isolate the class from Luka (they’d all agreed Marc shouldn’t interact with Marinette in public for fear of Nathaniel being tricked into breaking up with him), but at least they all had each other.

**MDC: Did you find a new artist for the comics yet, Marc?”**

**Marc: Yeah. She’s from Kagami’s school. Her name’s Summer, and everyone has a crush on her there.**

**I Studied The Blade: It’s true. Almost everyone’s had a crush on her. Marc’s only immune because he likes boys.**

**Jagged Junior: Almost everyone?**

**I Studied The Blade: I have no comment at this time.**

**MDC: Oh, by the way... I might be dropping by your places tomorrow, so don’t panic when you see me.**

**Marc: Why would we panic?**

**Marc: Marinette?**

**Jagged Junior: Marinette? Talk to us!**

**MDC: ...I can’t really say. It’ll be clear by tomorrow. Please, don’t mention this conversation to anyone.**

**I Studied The Blade: Why shouldn’t we?**

**MDC: Just trust me, Kagami.**

**I Studied The Blade: ...fine. I’ll stay quiet until tomorrow. But if we find out you’ve been kidnapped or something, all bets are off.**

**MDC: Okay. I’ll take that deal.**

**Jagged Junior: ...fine. But stay safe, Marinette.**

**MDC is now offline.** ****

Eris left the groupchat with a sigh. She hated lying to them.

Hopefully they’d still be on her side after what she was going to do tomorrow.


	2. Retribution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tonight on Cause of Strife; Caline Bustier suffers! Adrien is an idiot! And Princess Justice is our Star in a Reasonably Priced Car!

Adrien walked into school with a broad smile on his face. His life was just about perfect.

Father still wasn’t terribly attentive, but he was relaxing Adrien’s schedule a bit. Nathalie was recovering nicely from the dizzy spell she’d had after the Miraculer Fiasco. And school was wonderful, as it always was, with the friend group he’d managed to establish.

Even his love life! Thanks to Oblivio, now he knew that Ladybug loved him the same way he loved her! He just had to make her see sense. She’d understand, and then they could be together for the rest of their lives. Maybe a rooftop dinner would snap her out of her denial? Yeah, that would do it!

There was only one problem. Marinette kept trying to expose Lila’s lies! It would be terrible if they did that. Lila wouldn’t be able to make friends. She needed time and understanding in order to become a good person. He couldn’t believe their Everyday Ladybug could be so selfish. Could she not see that they had to help Lila?

He’d have to talk to her again. Lila would never become a better person if they humiliated her by exposing her lies. She needed time and patience! Lila would see the error of her ways eventually. Then they could all be friends, properly this time!

Plagg was talking a lot less as well, aside from the usual requests for Camembert. But his kwami still allowed him to transform into Cat Noir, so clearly everything was fine. Besides, given that Plagg was usually a claw-ful (hah! Pun! His puns were the best!) pain in his side, he couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t a major improvement.

For some reason though, there was an icy feeling trickling down his spine- as though he’d done something terribly wrong. But he hadn’t! He was doing everything he was supposed to. Right?

He shook his doubts aside and entered class, dropping his bag next to his new seat, which was next to Lila. The girl had become a little clingy lately, always hanging off his arm, but Chloe did the same thing. It wasn’t a big deal.

“Hey, Alya, do you know when Marinette’ll be here? I need to talk to her about Lila.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Of course I don’t know when she’ll be here. Why would I bother keeping track of that clumsy bully? She’s been nothing but terrible to poor Lila! I see why you want to talk to her. This bullying can’t continue.”

Nino nodded. “I’m with you on that, babe- Lila! Get over here, dudette! We’ve got an idea you’re gonna love!”

Lila sauntered over, sending Adrien a wink as she sat down and began squeezing his arm. “Really? Well, I’m sure if someone as smart as you two came up with it, I’ll be sure to love it! What is it?”

Alya puffed up like a peacock from the praise. “Well, we tore up Marinette’s sketchbook the other day, but she’s still not remorseful for bullying you! She hasn’t asked any of us for forgiveness! So we got this great idea! We’re gonna throw a huge party! But we’re gonna plan it so that Marinette can walk by and see us all having fun! Then she’ll feel really sorry, because she was missing out due to her jealousy!

Lila’s eyes widened. “Oh, Alya! Surely we shouldn’t do that! I mean, Marinette’s a terrible person, but we have to be better than her, don’t we?”

Alya laughed. “That’s why you’re my bestie, Lila! You’re so nice, even to that bully! But we still need to teach her a lesson!”

Adrien was quiet throughout the entire conversation. He should probably warn Marinette- no, that would just set her off! If he told Marinette about the plan, she’d confront Lila! And then Lila would be exposed and everyone would hate her! How would Lila become better if everyone hated her? No, the best thing to do would be to not warn Marinette. She was their Everyday Ladybug- she could take a bit of sadness. It wasn’t like she’d be akumatized. 

Also he was rather preoccupied with the fact that Lila was cutting off his circulation, but he could address that later.

Ms. Bustier entered the room, and all conversation stopped. “Alright, role call, everyone!”

She got up to the D’s and called out, “Marinette?”

As if waiting for a cue, the door flew loose from its hinges, soared across the room, and snapped in half against the opposing wall.

The akumatized villain strode into the room. She was wearing dark blue sweatpants, black boots, and an indigo tank top patterned with purple butterflies. Vambraces covered her wrists. A sword was sheathed at her side. Her long black hair was in a braid that almost touched the floor. Navy facepaint was splashed like a mask across her gleaming bluebell eyes, but it did nothing to hide her identity.

_That’s impossible..._

The akumatized Marinette grinned wickedly. “Present!”

Alya stood so quickly that her chair fell out from behind her, face contorted with fury. “I can’t believe you! Good grief, Marinette! You’re actually getting akumatized because we called you out for bullying poor Lila?! How selfish can you possibly be?! I can’t believe I was ever friends with you!”

Ms. Bustier stood as well, but rather than reprimand Alya (you know, like a good teacher), she said: “Marinette, I’m so disappointed in you! How are you supposed to set a good example for the rest of the class if you get akumatized? Your duties as class president-“

Purple light exploded across Eris’ hands, and a ball of energy erupted from her palms. Ms. Bustier was sent flying with a shout. “Shut! Up! I am going to say my piece!”

Lila let out a wail and started up her crocodile tears. “Marinette! I can’t believe you’ve gotten akumatized over me! What have I ever done to you? Are you that upset about people knowing what a bully you are-“

Eris fired another energy ball, sending Lila flying out of her chair onto Alya and Nino’s desk. Two more quick bursts sent both of them crashing to the ground before Eris grabbed Lila by the throat. “Listen here, you lying little vixen-“

Adrien heard ‘lying’ and spun around. “Marinette, what are you doing! You can’t expose Li-“

Eris twirled and struck him across the jaw. Hard. Burning pain slowly crept into his face as gasps of shock came from the class- _Marinette_ had just slapped _Adrien_. Just about everyone could acknowledge that that wasn’t within the normal realm of possibility.

The akumatized girl laughed a cold, malicious laugh.“Sorry, Adrien, but your Marinette is in another castle. The name’s Eris. I’d say it’s nice to meet you but... then I’d be lying.”

She returned her attention to Lila. “Now then, what shall I do with-“

A wild Kim attacked, throwing a punch that was so obvious that it was a miracle he’d been picked to be King Monkey. “Don’t you dare hurt Lila any mo- GAAAHHH!”

Eris had easily caught his fist and squeezed. Kim pulled away with a shout, bruises spreading across his knuckles as the villainess smirked wickedly. Ivan yelled and charged, but she easily stopped him and hurled him aside.

Eris lit up her hands with energy again, rolling it into a ball between her palms. “Anyone else?!”

Ms. Bustier opened her mouth again. “Marinette, you must hand over your akumatized object! If you remain akumatized, how are you supposed to set a good exam-“

Eris blasted her. With a cry of pain, the teacher was sent sprawling across her desk. Adrien grimaced and began to sneak towards the door. Maybe while Eris was focused on Lila-

But Eris wasn’t focusing on Lila, instead charging another energy ball on hurling it into Ms. Bustier again, provoking another cry. And then she hurled a third, this time slamming the woman into the wall.

Adrien stepped forwards, grabbing the girl’s arm. “Marinette, you can’t-“

She hurled him, sending him crashing through the open doorway.

The class finally got the hint. Letting out screams and shouts, they ran for it, because they now knew that if Eris would harm Adrien, she’d gladly harm them.

Eris allowed them to run, until Lila stood on shaky legs and tried to join them. The villainess lashed out with her braid, which extended, wound around Lila’s wrist, and pulled her back to Eris. “Oh no. You don’t get to leave!”

Alya gaped from where she stood by the door, the last to leave the classroom. “What?! Marinette, stop being so cru-“

Eris hurled an energy ball, which curved in midair and struck Alya perfectly at center mass, blasting her through the doorway.

Then, with a shout, Eris lifted the teacher’s desk and hurled it into the doorway, blocking the only exit from the room before Ms. Bustier could reach it. “Oh, Ms. Bustier! So kind of you to join me! Why don’t we have a chat?”

…

Adrien ran straight for the boy’s room, slamming the door behind him. Plagg zipped out of his bag. “Huh. Your everyday Ladybug got akumatized. Sure didn’t see that one coming.”

“Not now, Plagg. I need to deakumatize Marinette before she can expose Lila’s lies!”

“You don’t think she might have a reason for trying to do that?”

Adrien stared at Plagg, because that was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. “Of course Marinette has a reason! She’s upset because the class is mad at her. She just doesn’t understand that all she has to do is apologize to Lila. If she’d just do that, then everything would go back to normal.“

“Kid-“

“Well, at least her being akumatized will let me see Milady. Then I can ask her out for dinner, and she’ll finally realize that she loves me! Not some random boy!”

“I really don’t-“

“No time. I have to deakumatize Marinette. Then I can talk to her about not exposing Lila. Plagg, Claws Out!”

The kwami spiralled resignedly into the ring, wondering if this was his karma for the Atlantis incident.

…

Eris quickly repositioned Lila so that her braid was holding the liar by the neck. Then she walked over to Ms. Bustier, who was struggling to her feet.

The teacher patted herself down, then shot Eris a look. “Where is your akumatized item, Marinette?”

Eris glared. “Okay, A: I’m not Marinette, and B: why on Earth would I tell you?”

Ms. Bustier looked at Eris like she was crazy. “Why, so I can take it to the heroes, of course! You simply cannot be akumatized, Marinette! You’re the class president, which means that you have to be a good example for people like Chloe to follow. Bullying poor Lila is one thing- and I will be calling your parents, make no mistake- but being akumatized is simply something I cannot permit!”

Eris simply crossed her arms. “You done?”

“What is that supposed to mea-“

Eris blasted her yet again, which was extremely satisfying, but also very unproductive. “Alright, I’m gonna spell it out for you. You are a _terrible_ teacher!”

Bustier gasped in shock and outrage. “Marinette! A good example shouldn’t say something like tha-“

Eris threw up her hands in frustration. “This! This right here is exactly what I’m talking about!”

“What do you mea-“

“I shouldn’t be the one who sets a good example! That-is-your-job! You’re the one who’s supposed to correct people’s behaviour! You’re supposed to stop bullies! Not give them infinite second chances while expecting the rest of your students to just go along with it!”

“Mari-“

“That’s not my name! And furthermore, you should be checking our medical records! Lila here apparently has arthritis, tinnitus, and a broken wrist, but I haven’t seen her with any treatment for that!”

Bustier had the nerve to look surprised. “Why, Marinette! As class president, you should’ve been on top of that!”

“On top of- so it was my responsibility to get Lila medical treatment? Who was going to pay for that?!”

Now Bustier looked disapproving. “What- Marinette, I cannot believe you’d be so selfish! Not getting Lila what she needs simply because you’re too lazy to access the school’s funding for these matters!”

“Too lazy- that does it! This conversation is pointless and unproductive, because all you’re doing is blaming me for not handling your responsibilities! And I! AM! SICK OF IT! SICK! OF! IT! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I’M SICK OF IT!”

Eris unsheathed the blade at her side and watched as its jagged edges began to glow with ethereal purple flames. “Caline Bustier, you have constantly shoved your responsibilities onto a student that shouldn’t have to deal with them, and you refuse to so much as perceive that you’ve done anything wrong. And for that, you had better believe that you’re going to be punished!”

She gripped the hilt of her weapon in both hands and raised it. “But since I don’t have the time to do that myself, _I’ll send you to someone who does_!”

The teacher’s eyes widened in sudden terror. “Mari-“

The sword came down, Eris stabbing her weapon deep into Bustier’s heart. The teacher stared straight ahead in shock, before purple light began cascading off her form, absorbed into the blade of the sword. Bustier let out a scream of mixed terror and pain, before falling silent as the light show ceased.

Eris smirked viciously at her handiwork- Bustier’s body, still with her blade embedded in its heart, had turned completely to stone, and began to crack as she pulled her weapon free from it.

She held the sword briefly up to her eyes and examined her reflection in the blade, before it shifted to an image of Bustier, pressing her hands against the surface imprisoning her. “Huh. So that’s how that works. I could swear there’s a cartoon where this is a thing... eh. Not like it matters at the moment.”

She blasted Bustier’s calcified form and blew it to bits, the stone face still staring in terror. “I’ll leave her to PJ. I’ve got a Lie-la to handle.”

“Marinette?”

Eris recognized that voice. She twirled on her heel, still imprisoning Lila with her braid. “Well, well, well. You got here pretty fast, Cat Noir.”

…

Caline groggily opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was... what was it? Eh, it would come back to her.

She examined her surroundings- a large, dark room with pillars of obsidian here and there, chairs carved out of some type of dark wood, and a massive amethyst crystal holding...

“Marinette!”

It all hit her in an instant as she examined the gemstone. Marinette was held exactly in the center of it like a fly in amber, her eyes closed as if she was simply asleep.

Then a shockwave struck her and sent her sprawling. “What the-“

A new girl who looked exactly like Marinette, except for the part where she was wearing a fancy dress, stepped towards her, twirling a massive hammer. “Caline Bustier. I wasn’t expecting you so soon. But regardless, you’re here now, so we can begin with the sentencing.

“S-sentencing? Marinette, what’s going on-“

A gesture with the hammer and Caline was hurled into a chair that would have been rather comfortable if it weren’t for the obsidian chains wrapping around her arms. “I am not Marinette. I am the dark side that almost was. I am Princess Justice.”

Five other figures began taking up positions around the room, all of them glaring at her with cold expressions. Princess Justice smirked. “And you, _Madame_ , are in my court.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat Noir calls out every Miraculous he can. Which is, admittedly, not unreasonable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma just introduce my Fanon powers for the Zodiac Miraculous real quick up here.
> 
> Ox Miraculous: Strongarm  
> Dog Miraculous: Forage  
> Tiger Miraculous: Wild Fire  
> Goat Miraculous: Big Escape  
> Pig Miraculous: Unburden  
> Rooster Miraculous: Dawncall
> 
> Alright, on with the chapter!

Eris smirked at the look on Cat Noir’s face; he looked like someone had just kicked a puppy in front of him. “What’s the matter, kitty-cat?”

Cat Noir shook his head, assuming his usual cocky expression. “I guess I’m a little surprised! You getting akumatized was not on my schedule for today.”

Eris crossed her arms. “Sorry to mess up your plans.”

The hero laughed. “Oh, don’t worry! I like a bit of randomness in my day! Now, let’s just wait for Ladybug to get here, and then you can surrender.”

Eris tilted her head. “I’m sorry, I must be missing something here.”

Cat Noir probably thought otherwise, but his tone was incredibly condescending. “Well, we all know that Milady is perfect and amazing, and that she’ll easily defeat you, so there’s no point in you fighting her. Besides, you don’t want to hurt anyone, especially not your friends!”

Eris rolled her eyes. “I’m not surrendering. Besides, I don’t have any friends in this class.”

“What do you mean? You’re friends with Alya, and Nino, and aren’t you really close with Adrien?”

Eris lit up her hands and held them together, forming an energy ball and hurling it into Cat Noir’s gut, blasting him into the wall. “I can tolerate a lot, but do not make the mistake of assuming that I’m friends with those... traitors!”

She twirled on her heel and made to leave the room, but a painfully obvious staff thrust made her spin back around and knock Cat Noir’s weapon away with her own, while accidentally-on-purpose slamming the still-bound Lila into the wall beside the exit.

Cat Noir’s attention shifted to Lila. “What are you doing with her?”

Eris smirked widely. “Oh, nothing much. I’m just going to out her to the entirety of Paris.”

The hero’s expression looked disapproving. “That’s a terrible idea! Why would you just expose her?”

Silence. Nothing but silence as Eris looked at Cat Noir in disbelief. “Why would I- she’s _lying_. She’s lying about _so much,_ and she’s going to _hurt people,_ and _I’m not letting her get away with it!”_

Cat Noir shook his head. “Marinette, you aren’t looking at the big picture! If Lila’s exposed, she’s bound to be akumatized! We can’t let that happen.”

“She’s bound to- I’M AKUMATIZED, YOU UTTER IDIOT!”

Cat Noir had the utter gall to laugh, waving his hand dismissively. “Oh, Marinette, don’t be ridiculous! You’re not a proper akuma, since you’re just going to surrender-“

Eris thrust out her hands and fired a blast from the tip of each of her fingers. Ten spheres of cracklings purple energy streaked through the air, growing in size with each second, before erupting in an explosion of force, plowing the “hero” through the wall. The villainess spun on her heel (once again ‘accidentally’ knocking Lila into a wall) and made to exit as she blasted out a window. “Honestly, I knew you were bad, but you might actually be worse than _Adrien!_ ”

And with that parting shot delivered, she sprang through the open window onto the roof of the adjacent building, heading for home.

…

A few minutes and several smashings of Lila into rooftops later, Eris arrived home, entering through the trapdoor in her balcony. “Mom! Dad! I’m home! Don’t bother coming up, and don’t pay attention to any screaming you might hear!“

There was a yelp of “Eris, did you kidnap a person?!”, but nobody came upstairs.

Eris sighed in relief, then slammed Lila into the wall as hard as she could. There was the wonderfully cathartic sound of a sharp crack. Lila let out a pained yelp, before the claw-like ends of Eris’ braid pierced through the wood and wallpaper, securing Lila against it.

Eris unsheathed her blade and began chuckling darkly as she marched around Lila, lifting the girl’s chin with the end of the blade. “Oh, it feels so good to have the shoe on the other foot.”

Lila shot her a glare. “You think this does anything? I’ve already turned everyone you love against you! No one will ever trust you again! After all, who would ever mistrust ‘poor bully victim Lila’?”

Eris snarled. “Why would you even do that in the first place?! What, do you get some kind of amusement out of seeing people universally hated by the people they thought they could trust?! Do you even feel sorry?!”

Teeth glinted into a slasher smile. “Why should I? All you had to do was roll over and show your belly. Go along with what I say. But _no,_ you had to go _against_ me, try to stop me from doing what I _always_ do! So I did what I did to that brat back in Italy. I’m just upset that I couldn’t get you to finally off yourself like he did!”

“...what. The hell.”

“Oh, I didn’t do anything, if that’s what you’re thinking. But when you’re all alone and everyone hates you for no good reason...”

“You’re sick!”

Lila rolled her eyes. “Oh, honestly. It was his own fault! He shouldn’t have tried to keep me from getting what I wanted! I’m a diplomat’s daughter! I’m a good enough liar to have an entire school eating out of my palm! _I deserve the world, just as that goody-two shoes deserved to take a plunge off that bridge!”_

Eris stabbed Lila right through her pathetic excuse of a heart. “Let me be very clear, Lila Rossi. _You. Have. Failed._ You haven’t made my parents doubt me. You haven’t turned my _real_ friends against me. I know Jagged Stone. I’ve designed for Clara Nightingale. I’ve babysat Nadia Chamack’s daughter. I’ve hooked people up for interviews with _Ladybug herself._ I have so many wonderful, amazing people in my life, and you can _never_ take that away from me!”

And with that, purple light whirled around the vixen, imprisoning whatever she had in the place of a soul within the Court.

Once that was done, Eris allowed herself to lose composure, her eyes going wide with terror. “...I knew she was bad, but this...”

She steeled her face and picked up her phone. “Penny? About that Rossi case...”

…

Cat Noir burst into the massage parlour. “Master, you called me?”

Fu wordlessly opened his hand, revealing the Ladybug Miraculous within them.

There was silence. Then Cat Noir began shaking his head. “No. No, that’s not possible! She’s so strong, and beautiful, and... and... perfect! She can’t have been...”

Fu restrained the urge to give the ‘hero’ a tongue-lashing for how he was speaking of Ladybug- as though she was a perfect trophy for him to be entitled to. “I managed to retrieve them before Eris could finish her off.”

Cat Noir muttered something along the lines of, “Why would Marinette do this? Now how am I supposed to ask Milady out once Marinette’s deakumatized?”

Fu opened the Miracle Box. “Cat Noir. With Ladybug unavailable, you must choose Miraculous to give out to allies you trust-“

“I need them all. Without Milady, all I have are a couple sidekicks. I need as many as I can get.”

Fu was silent for a moment. Was it really wise to give him access to this many Miraculous?

But if he knew anything about Marinette, it was that she had a plan, even if it was technically her akuma identity doing the planning. And that meant he had to play along.

“Very well. I also have a list of the heroes selected by me and Ladybug. Give them their Miraculous, then you may select other heroes on your own.”

Five minutes later, the Miraculous were all in a burlap sack and the list was in Cat Noir’s hand. “Alright. I’ve got some heroes to find!”

…

“Alya Cesaire, this is the Miraculous of the Fox, which grants the power of Illusion...”

…

“Nino Lahiffe, this is the Miraculous of the Turtle, which grants the power of Protection...”

…

“Chloe Bourgeois, this is the Miraculous of the Bee, which grants the power of Subjection...”

…

“Le Chien Kim, this is the Miraculous of the Monkey, which grants the power of Jubilation...”

…

“Max Kante, this is the Miraculous of the Horse, which grants the power of Teleportation...”

…

“Alix Kubdel, this is the Miraculous of the Rabbit, which grants the power of Evolution...”

…

“Juleka Couffaine, Rose Lavillant, these are the Miraculous of the Tiger and Pig, which grant the powers of Conflagration and Compassion...”

…

“Nathaniel Kurtzberg, this is the Miraculous of the Rooster, which grants the power of Illumination...”

…

“Ivan Bruel, this is the Miraculous of the Ox, which grants the power of Determination...”

…

“Mylene Haprele, this is the Miraculous of the Mouse, which grants the power of Multiplication...”

…

“Sabrina Raincomprix, this is the Miraculous of the Dog, which grants the power of Impression...”

…

After Cat Noir recruited each hero- luckily catching Rose and Juleka on a date night so he could get them both at once- he brought them to Chloe’s hotel room, which she had reluctantly allowed them to use as a base. Butler Jean kept the tea and biscuits flowing.

After arriving with Sabrina, he picked out the Snake Miraculous next. “Alright. This one goes to Juleka’s brother, then the Dragon Miraculous to Kagami, and then we can start discussing candidates for the Goat Miraculous.”

Rena Rouge raised her hand. “Do we have to get those two? They’re both friends with Marinette! After how she’s been bullying poor Lila, can we really trust them?”

Tigress (Juleka) shot Rena a glare, Miss Piggy (Rose) at her side. “You take that back! Even if Luka’s still friends with _her_ , we can’t hold that against him! He’s just a nice guy, that’s all!”

Rena slowly lowered her hand. “I retract my comment. Just one thing: isn’t the Couffaine houseboat on the other end of town?”

Daybreak (Nathaniel) offered a dry look. “We’re superheroes. We can leap tall buildings within five proper jumps, and that’s without taking into account that Minimouse (Mylene), Beagle (Sabrina), and Queen Bee all have weapons that can extend for infinity and are good for carrying people.”

Carapace raised an eyebrow. “Yeah... _why_ exactly is the weapon of the Dog Miraculous a flail?”

Beagle shrugged, tugging at the chain of her weapon. “Heavy, fast-moving object attached to something long that you hold to keep it from getting away from you.”

“...huh. Yeah, that fits. Should we all go to grab Luka? Just in case she shows up?”

Cat Noir nodded. “Sounds good. Move out, people!”

Thirteen multicoloured heroes leapt off Chloe’s balcony, heading towards the Couffaine houseboat... completely unaware that it had already been visited by someone else an entire hour prior.

…

Luka was just walking back into his room when the akumatized villain landed before him on the deck of the houseboat. For a moment, he was ready to run for it, until he recognized her. “Marinette?”

The girl smiled sheepishly. “So... remember when I mentioned I’d be dropping by your place today?”

Luka let out a low groan. “So much of that conversation suddenly makes sense.”


	4. Villains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How do you intend to defeat Cat Noir and the heroes, exactly?”
> 
> “Like the old man said. Together.”

Luka was speechless after Eris finished her story. “...Mari, you should have told us it was this bad! We could’ve-“

“You live with Juleka, who’s in a band with Ivan, Rose, and Adrien. If you went against Lila, she probably could’ve gotten you kicked out of Kitty Section, she already got Kagami akumatized, and who knows what she’d be able to do to Marc?”

“So Kagami knows?”

“She confronted Adrien about this mess. This was immediately before he started taking private lessons.”

Luka facepalmed. “So basically, he’s in his own little universe where he’s the only person allowed to be right and everything always goes his way, and he refuses to believe otherwise. Geez. Talk about delusional...”

Eris nodded. “Yeah, but there’s another reason I’m here.. I’m pretty sure Cat Noir’s gonna be getting reinforcements at some point. He seemed to think that I was just gonna surrender, but since I haven’t, there’s no doubt he’s gonna get more heroes on my back. I’m gonna need help.”

Luka stared at her for a second. Then he pointed at himself. “...you’re aware that I have noodle arms and no superpowers whatsoever, right?”

Eris shrugged and unsheathed her blade. “I can take care of the latter issue. Although, noodle arms? I’d imagine being Viperion is kind of muscle-boosting, isn’t it?”

Luka’s mouth fell open. “How do you know that I’m Viperi- oh. My. _Gosh_.”

“...shoot.”

Luka put his face into his hands, letting out a muffled groan. “You’re Ladybug. There is so much suddenly makes sense.”

Eris sheepishly scratched the back of her head. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. So much for that secret.”

“And no, being Viperion is not muscle-boosting, since any gains are immediately reset whenever I use Second Chance.”

“Oh, yeah, that would do it, wouldn’t it? Anyways. So, you gonna join Team Eris?”

Luka pursed his lips. Willingly help a supervillain that he happened to be crushing on, or fight against her when Cat Noir inevitably came looking for Viperion? Prove that he was a really friend, or betray her like so many others already had?

There was really only one option.

“...I’m in.”

“Marvellous! Kneel, please?”

Luka stared at her for a moment, then shrugged and did as she asked, crouching down and allowing her to rest her blade across his right shoulder.

There was a burst of purple firelight, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

…

Eris watched the petrified form of Luka as golden energy pulsed under the stone. Then it abruptly exploded from the inside out, revealing its captive.

The boy shook his head to get flecks of dust out of his gold-tipped locks, flexing his fingers, before shooting Eris a grin. "Man, it's good to be properly out! The Silencer incident was _not_ fun."

Then he frowned. "Luka's okay, right?"

Eris held up her blade and tilted it so that Luka's reflection showed in the metal. "He's with Marinette. He'll be perfectly fine so long as this thing isn't Cataclysmed, and given I'm mostly hurling energy blasts, it's not likely. Incidentally, you're gonna need a name."

The boy looked himself over. Snake fang earrings, black face paint streaked across his eyes, black fingerless gloves, t-shirt, jeans, armored vambraces and greaves over steel-toed boots. Golden accents covered most of his outfit. "Huh. Not bad outfit-wise! I'm gonna need a weapon, though-"

He'd barely had time to say it before golden light blazed across his fingertips, forming an black and gold electric guitar. He grinned wickedly. "Oh, now we're talking!"

Eris smiled. "I guess you've got it figured out, then?"

"Apollo works, I think. Might as well set a theme."

"Fair. Now, we've got two more recruits to pick up. Marc'll probably be easier to convince than Kagami, but I don't want the heroes to have Ryuko's powers..."

Apollo frowned. "Won't they just give someone else the Dragon Miraculous?"

"Nah. Cat Noir's probably not going to think to do that- I once suggested picking a new Queen Bee and he almost had an aneurysm. Besides, he won't risk bringing in a newbie."

"...wait, he didn't think Chloe might be a bad choice for a hero?"

"More like he figured the Bee Miraculous was hers. Didn't want to give it to someone else."

Apollo shrugged. "I'll go with that. I say we split up. You talk to Kagami, I'll get Marc to your position?"

"I love working with someone sensible! If you'll excuse me, I've got a fencer to attend to."

…

Kagami heard a thump at her window. "That's odd. The only people who should be able to get up here are heroes or akumas-"

This sentence was followed by her reaching over and picking up her personal fencing blade before carefully unlocking the window.

What was unmistakably an akumatized Marinette slipped in, grinning cheerfully. "Kagami, hey! So glad to see you haven't called the police!"

Kagami promptly (and completely understandably given the circumstances) launched an attack that Marinette easily blocked with her broadsword. "Whoa, Kagami, easy!"

"I'd like to point out that you're an akuma!"

In a move that would have made an Olympic fencer take notice, Marinette disarmed her. "I'm well aware that I'm an akuma! Could you please sit down for a minute and let me explain?!"

As there was a sword at her throat, Kagami sat down and let her explain. Five minutes later, she was seething with fury. "I swear, if I get my hands on Rossi, I'll-" she said something that Eris never thought would come out of her mouth.

“As touching as it is you'd do that for me, I think you'd go to prison for that.”

"I'm rich. Mother will bail me if she knows it's for a good and honourable cause."

Eris shrugged. "That's fair. So, are you in?"

Kagami's face made an interesting spasm that suggested a struggle of opinions, before she nodded, no less firm than she ever was.

Eris held out her sword and tapped Kagami over the heart. A whirl of purple light spiralled around her for a moment, before her petrified form began pulsing with blue light. A few seconds later, the rock shell cracked and fell apart, breaking down into dust.

The girl who was not, in fact, Kagami Tsurugi stood up and cracked her knuckles. She was wearing an outfit similar to Apollo's- black shirt, fingerless gloves, jeans, greaves and vambraces, all with blue accents. Black greasepaint was splashed across her eyes.

Eris helped her stand up. "Given who you are, I assume you already have a name thought up?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm certainly not going by Riposte or Oni-Chan again. Call me _Nemesis_."

"I _like_ it! Apollo's probably got Marc by now, so shall we get going?"

Nemesis smiled. "I think that's an excellent idea. We can walk and talk. I've got some ideas for an ambush."

"Oh, you are _definitely_ based on Kagami Tsurugi!"

…

Cat Noir landed outside the Couffaine houseboat, which was strangely silent. His colourful ensemble of heroes were all right behind him, but they didn't have as casual a demeanour as he did.

Beagle shivered anxiously. "Something feels wrong."

Rena Rouge nodded with a grimace. "I feel it too. Anyone else?"

Miss Piggy, Daybreak, and Minimouse all nodded.

Cat Noir shrugged. "It's probably nothing. The akuma is Marinette."

Rena frowned. "I dunno, Cat Noir. She's been pretty terrible to poor Lila. Speaking of which, shame we couldn't find Lila. She'd be perfect for a Miraculous!"

Cat Noir wasn't quite sure of that, but he kept it to himself. It'll work itself out. No need to rock the boat.

He reached into the burlap sack and pulled out the Snake Miraculous. "Alright, we've just got to find Luka-"

There was a laugh. "Oh, no need to look far. I'm afraid Luka's not home at the moment, though."

Cat Noir noticed for the first time that Eris was standing on the deck of the houseboat. "Marinette, what is that supposed to-"

"I'm not Marinette, and by that I mean... well, I'll just let them show you, shall I? C'mon, guys!"

The following dramatic entrance would have made anyone who had ever attempted a dramatic entrance suitably jealous, as a guitar rift rang out across street. Glowing red disks opened up midair similarly to Voyage, allowing a trio of figures to step out. The multicoloured facepaint across each of their eyes did little to hide their identities.

Eris made a mocking bow as she gestured towards them. "Please, allow me to introduce my butt-kicking crew! First, we haaaaave Apollo!"

'Luka' grinned as he twirled a guitar pick in his fingers, fiddling with the neck of his electric guitar. "I'd say it's good to meet you, but it'd be a lie!"

There was a thumping noise as Tigress fell to her knees on the pavement.

"Next up, the mandatory bladesmaster, iiiiiiiit's Nemesis!"

'Kagami' twirled the razor-sharp scimitars in her hands, the metal audibly whistling through the air. "Ditto the musician."

Cat Noir perfectly understood how Tigress felt, and it was only the fact that the team was looking to him for guidance that he didn't collapse himself.

"Aaaand finally, our resident reclusive writer, out for a night of fun, give it up _fooooooor_ Prometheus!"

Daybreak's legs hit the pavement, which given that a very much evil Marc was standing there, was completely understandable.

Prometheus didn't say anything, electing to stay silent, but he held a notepad and a pen in his hand as though preparing to take notes. Given what Eris could do, Cat Noir doubted it was that simple.

Eris spread arms as wide as her wicked smile. “As you can see, Cat Noir, I did a little recruiting!”

All four villains stepped forwards, preparing themselves for battle.

Cat Noir twirled his baton. “Don’t worry! They’re outnumbered! We can take them!”

Nemesis tightened her grip on her blades. “Outnumbered, maybe, but definitely not outmatched.”

Eris grinned, her hands lighting up with dark energy. “Let’s see how long you last!”

…

Hawk Moth smiled in satisfaction. If the skill and strategy Eris was demonstrating was any indication, he'd been right to hold out to akumatize Miss Dupain-Cheng. The Miraculous would be in his grasp soon enough. Though it was odd that Ladybug hadn't arrived yet...

He was brought out of his musing by the sound of high heels on the floor of his lair. "Nathalie. You should be resting. If Eris needs a Sentimonster, I want you at full strength so the repercussions on your body will be minimal."

"I'm fine, sir. I was curious about how Eris could create her minions, and-"

Hawk Moth held up a hand. "Curiosity is no sin, Nathalie. It's a similar process to how I create my akumas. Unlike the powers of my Miraculous, Eris was intended to merely be able to imprison the souls of others and allow their dark sides to take over. However, she has some sort of... odd internal quality that enhanced that ability."

Nathalie frowned. "Solely that ability?"

Hawk Moth shrugged. "It is bizarre, but I'm not terribly concerned. It allows her to create a small, elite squadron rather than having to amass an army of cannon fodder, and if she doesn't succeed, I suppose we can always use her with another attempt at a Scarlet Akumatization."

"Very well, sir."

"Now get back to rest, Nathalie. I will keep watch on Eris this evening."

"Alright. Good night, sir."


	5. Skirmish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle Time! Also Mayura is extremely good at making sentimonsters.

The natural move when outnumbered was for the villains to try to split up the heroes. Prometheus was the first to succeed in this, letting loose a trio of bright red streaks _(bounce)_ that struck Daybreak, Minimouse, and Storming Ox, causing them to abruptly soar into the air. Prometheus conjured a portal and stepped through to their location.

Nemesis was the next to claim a group of heroes, lunging at Bunnyx, Queen Bee, and Beagle, successfully driving them back from the rest of the heroes as they tried to defend themselves from the surprise attack (and failed miserably). Tigress instinctively made a movement to help, but Apollo put an end to it with a violent riff, blasting her backwards before springing to engage her.

Miss Piggy made a motion to run, then looked back at Cat Noir, who nodded. "Go! Pegasus, go with her!"

The Horse hero took off, leaving Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, King Monkey, and Carapace all facing a smirking Eris as her hands lit up. "Quite the menagerie. A failure, a traitor, and two blind sheep. This should be fun."

Rena twirled her flute. "It doesn't have to end like this, Marinette! Just reverse what you did to Lila and apologize! Stop being so jealous!"

"See, the fact that you said that proves it _does_ have to end this way."

Cat Noir opened his mouth, only for his entire body to ignite with blinding pain as Eris blasted him. "Enough talking!"

Carapace barely blocked another blast. "You've hurt Marinette enough. _Now I'm hurting you back!"_

…

It turned out it was very easy to fight multiple superheroes if you had a spammable AOE attack. Apollo was all too gleeful to abuse this fact.

As Miss Piggy lunged at his back, he let loose another riff from his guitar strings, releasing a massive dome-shaped sonic shockwave, blasting her away.

His golden eyes flashed over to Pegasus and Tigress, who were apparently discussing some sort of plan- he'd have to-

"Voyage!"

The Horse Miraculous' power tore a hole in space, allowing Tigress to drop through with a shout of her own. "Wild Fire!"

Flames erupted from the bracelet and solidified into- naturally- a bright red tiger with glowing yellow stripes. "Ah, sh-"

It attacked, swiping heat-emitting claws at him before he managed to blast it off of him- except it was made out of fire, so it was far less effective than it would have been if it was solid. "Whose bright idea was it to give this Miraculous fire powers?!"

Now Pegasus was lunging together with the tiger. _Well, I didn't expect it would be easy..._

…

Prometheus was finding his job somewhat easier than Apollo's, given the fact that he was essentially only fighting two heroes.

Storming Ox had activated his Strongarm power, giving him drastically increased strength, but he was slow enough (though only just) that Prometheus could avoid his strikes. Minimouse was significantly faster and very good at landing hits with her jump rope, but she wasn't nearly as bulky and was barely leaving a scratch.

Daybreak was doing nothing useful whatsoever.

With a quick flash of red eyes and a blur of pen on paper, the pavement erupted into a forest of pillars that Storming Ox easily bulldozed through, only for an explosion to erupt from Prometheus' notebook straight into the hero's gut. Storming Ox was immediately treated to an impromptu flying lesson.

Daybreak finally sprang, wrapping his arms around Prometheus as Minimouse called for Multitude. The villain smirked. "This is new! You're not usually this eager to get started!"

Daybreak blushed. "M-marc, now's really not the time for this! Please, just hand over whatever Marinette used to turn you into a villain!"

"Sorry, Nath, no object with this one. Why are you helping these guys, anyways? Don't tell me you believe everything coming out of Lila's mouth!"

"I-I can explain, but you have to surrender!"

Prometheus shot a glare at the swarm of Minimice and conjured a blast of wind that sent them all flying. "Better idea. Why don't you surrender?"

Daybreak looked like he was considering it, a war being fought between his options. His eyes gleamed with reluctance. "...you know I can't do that."

"...yeah, I do."

"Dawncall!"

And then there was light. "AGH! NATH, WHAT THE HECK?!"

The blazing orange radiance quickly faded, but it left spots on the eyes of anyone lacking a Rooster Miraculous. Blows flew as Prometheus covered his head. _I know this needs to look good, but geez, this hurts!_

He shoved Daybreak away, pen flying across the page, desperately hoping his spelling was correct.

There was a burst of red, then the sound of an unconscious body hitting the ground.

The bedazzlement of his eyes finally faded and he summoned a portal that dropped Daybreak's unconscious body back to their base of operations. Then he twirled on his heel and saw what was happening back at the houseboat.

Cursing, he scribbled down a quick sentence, folded the page into a paper airplane, and sent it on its way. "Alright, who needs help more?"

Two seconds later, he'd made a dash for Apollo. If Nemesis couldn't handle herself, he'd eat his and Nath's comic.

…

Nemesis was indeed handling herself. She was helped by a very simple fact: due to Hawk Moth's flawed designs, most sword-wielding villains were melee opponents. She was not.

She hurled a flurry of blades against Queen Bee's spinning trompo to little effect, but that allowed her to leap over the resulting strike and neatly disarm Bunnyx of her umbrella. "Honestly, I'm disappointed. I expected you'd all be a better challenge then this.

Bunnyx smirked. "It's all part of the plan. Burrow!"

~~ _**backintimebackintimebackintime** _ ~~

Nemesis was indeed handling herself. She was helped by a very simple fact: due to Hawk Moth's flawed designs, most sword-wielding villains were melee opponents. She was not.

She hurled a flurry of blades against Queen Bee's spinning trompo to little effect, but that allowed her to leap over the resulting strike, only for a second Bunnyx to burst out of a Burrow and knock her weapon away, the first one suddenly vanishing in a wash of silver light. "Not this time! Queenie, Venom her!"

Nemesis narrowly avoided the sudden stinger strike, but that only allowed Beagle to make her own attack. The villainess was sent sprawling across the pavement with the heavy impact of the flail. _I must admit, I didn't expect the Dog Miraculous to be such a heavy hitter. Regardless, I have to fight!_

She summoned hundreds of blades, hurling them forwards. Queen Bee, rather amusingly, was forced to duck behind Beagle, unable to shield herself with Venom active.

Oh. Now there's an idea.

Another volley erupted from each fingertip, razor-sharp daggers covering her advance, before she summoned a javelin and pole-vaulted over Beagle to land behind Queen Bee, grabbing the arm with Venom active and forcing the snobby heiress to stab herself.

Evidently, the Bee was not immune to the concept it represented, as Queen Bee completely froze, her trompo falling uselessly to the ground. Beagle let out a loud scream/howl and swung her weapon, but Nemesis summoned a new blade and neatly deflected it.

Then Nemesis performed the strangest action of the battle yet- she began to retreat.

The heroes were dumbstruck for a moment, before Bunnyx let out a whoop. "She's on the run! After her!"

Yes, Nemesis thought with a smirk as she continued to run back to the houseboat, follow me. After all, I can't possibly be leading you into a trap, can I?

Because if the blue feather she'd seen flying overhead was to be believed, she'd be doing just that.

The blue tentacles that burst overhead and smacked the heroes away provoked a grin of malicious glee.

…

Eris was _greatly_ regretting her decision to take on four heroes at once. She'd engaged in hand-to-hand combat, but her skills were evenly matched by King Monkey's physical bulk, and Rena Rouge wasn't helping matters as she darted in and out to land blows with her flute. And to add to the annoyance, Carapace kept blocking her shots! And if Cat Noir wasn't waiting for an opportunity to Cataclysm her sword, he was even more delusional than she thought he was, because she was _not_ surrendering.

Unfortunately, the heroes were quite equipped to handle her if she decided not to come quietly.

She hurled herself at King Monkey again, trying to prevent him from summoning Uproar, but he knocked her away with ease and did exactly that, a bobblehead Lila falling into his hand. He let out a whoop. "See? It's a sign that you're wrong! Now you have to apologize to Lila!"

Rena suddenly shouted a very nasty word, and Eris realized why when blue light pulsed into existence at the very edges of her peripheral vision. _**I received a message from Prometheus. Eris, I am Mayura. I shall grant you a powerful sentimonster, Skolopendra, to help you defeat the heroes. I think he'll be to your liking.**_

Eris giggled with malicious glee. "Sounds good to me!”

Blue miasma whirled into existence at her feet... and materialized into a very cute, but very tiny large-eyed octopus. It let out a cheerful squeaking noise and flipped its tentacles, looking utterly unintimidating.

Rena laughed harshly. "It really is a sign! See, Marinette? Lila's in the right!"

Eris ignored her and snapped her fingers. "Skolo, dearie? Swat the insects."

A moment later, the sentimonster's effectiveness became unquestionable. He suddenly grew, becoming larger and larger until he towered easily over the heroes, letting out a sort of warble/roar before lashing out with two of his tentacles in a sweeping wave, sending the heroes flying off the houseboat.

Eris let out a cackle of delight. "Oh yeah! You've got to be Mayura's best work yet!"

King Monkey's bobblehead was hurled in her general direction, but she effortlessly blasted it into the Seine. "Okay, rest of the team, rest of the team- Skolo! Those two following Nemesis!"

Nemesis had burst onto the pavement, Beagle and Bunnyx following her right into Skolopendra's range. One tentacle lash later, the issue was solved as Bunnyx's timer rang out cheerfully, indicating she only had two minutes left.

Apollo led his own party of heroes over a moment later, consisting of Tigress (still accompanied by her Wild Fire) and Miss Piggy, as Prometheus had successfully duct-taped Pegasus to a lamppost.

Eris frowned for a moment. Skolopendra would easily knock them aside, but they still weren't doing permanent damage.

They had to reduce the hero's numbers.

"Catch the Tiger!"

Skolopendra gleefully obeyed, lashing out and wrapping a tentacle around Tigress, provoking twin yelps of terror. The Wild Fire tried to lunge and protect its master, but Eris and Apollo converged on it with a dual blast of their respective ranged attacks, producing a spiralling purple wave that completely eradicated the unfortunate tiger.

Miss Piggy's lunge to get her girlfriend back was admirable, but completely hopeless, as Nemesis quickly demonstrated with a flurry of blades.

"Marinette!"

Eris rolled her eyes and spun to look at Rena Rouge. "Before you say anything, I'm not apologizing to Lila!"

"Why not?! You've been nothing but horrible to her, and you're egotistical enough to get akumatized over being called out! You owe her this, Marinette!"

A glowing red circle opened midair, and Prometheus stuck his head out of it. "I got Daybreak! That makes two captives with Tigress!"

Apollo left into action, slamming his guitar against the back of Rena's head, sprawling the Fox heroine across the planks of the Liberty. "Make that three."

Eris giggled. "Works for me! Prometheus, get us out of here! We've left a big enough mark."

"Marinette!"

But Eris had no words to say to Cat Noir as Prometheus enlarged his portal and quickly warped away the rest of the villains and a shrunken Skolopendra, the portal fading before the hero's claws could enter it.

Carapace slammed a fist into the pavement and let out a howl of more mingled emotions than Cat Noir had time to name. Miss Oiggy collapsed by his side, letting out sobs. “Oh, Juleka!”

Cat Noir stared ruefully for a moment, then turned to a shaken Queen Bee. "Round up the others. We need to regroup."

…

Hiding in Eris's bedroom, the five villains toasted their success with some hot chocolate, which Mayura had assured them Skolopendra could safely ingest. Eris grinned widely. "Three heroes down! That's three Miraculous in our possession!"

Hawk Moth's mask pulsed in front of her face. _**Very good, Eris! Be sure to leave them somewhere safe. I'm looking forwards to when you can present me with all of them!**_

The villain left her mind, and she promptly dropped the Fox, Tiger, and Rooster Miraculous into the portal Prometheus had opened to Master Fu's parlour. The old man would, of course, not be informing Cat Noir that the Miraculous had been recovered, trusting Eris to maintain control of herself to ensure the success of their rather elaborate plan.

Apollo was the one to bring up the topic of their captives. "What do we do with them? I imagine Luka will have some words for Juleka, but given that I'm in his body..."

Eris shrugged. "If Marc and Marinette don't want to shout at Nathaniel and Alya, I'll eat a roll of the good fabric. I think I can work something out, but their opinions might be a little coloured."

"It should be fine," Nemesis noted. "From what I know, Marinette will be able to speak as herself."

Prometheus nodded. "I'm honestly not messing with Marc that much. We're on a pretty similar wavelength."

"...alright, it's decided."

Eris raised her blade, the reflection gleaming and showing Marinette in the akuma's place, and willed it to life. Purple flames burst into life, Eris' eyes flashing in the light…

Juleka was doing her best to flex her limbs, but the chains binding her to a chair made it next to impossible. Her eyes flashed up as someone entered the darkened area. "Luka."

Her brother's blue eyes gleamed in the limited light provided as he simply stared in dismay. "Juleka. What did you do?"

…

Nathaniel hunched over in his chair, his own chains keeping him bound as Marc walked into the room. The redhead let out a brief bitter laugh as his boyfriend took the seat across from him. "I guess I've got some explaining to do, don't I?"

Marc simply stared with his bright green eyes. "Yeah."

…

Alya pulled desperately against her bindings, ignoring the chains digging into her skin. She had to get back to the heroes! She had to get her Miraculous! She had to rescue Lila! She had to find a Miraculous for her amazing friend so she could finally defend herself against her bully-

"MARINETTE!"

A bluebell gaze shone with sadness- why?! She didn't have any _right_ to be sad, not with how she'd been treating Lila!

Marinette simply shook her head. "Oh, Alya. How did it go this far?


	6. Grievances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussions ensue.

Nemesis tapped her fingers on her thigh. "They've been in there a while."

Skolopendra, having shrunk back down, warbled curiously, staring up at her with wide, innocent eyes.

"I guess you aren't worried then?"

The octopus nodded.

Nemesis toyed idly with a dagger. She wanted to be doing something while the others were busy-

Wait. The only thing they didn't know was Hawk Moth's location, and if she could find that...

She grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled down a quick note, then leapt out the window.

Skolopendra stared curiously after her, then grabbed the paper and curled up with it like it was a teddy bear.

…

Nathaniel grimaced and tried to blow away the red bangs in his face. Marc reached over and gently moved them out of the way instead. The redhead had to admit, he didn't expect such an intimate gesture (for them, anyways), but he'd take it regardless.

Marc sighed. "Nath, you've gotta give me something. I don't want to think you just abandoned Marinette to that... um..."

Nathaniel said a word that would have gotten his mouth washed out with soap. Crimson flooded Marc's face. "Um. Yeah, that."

"...okay, I'll tell you as much as I can. I figured out Lila was lying about pretty much everything after the Chameleon akuma. She tried to say she knew the artist for the Ladybug comic on that website- you know, the one we made to post the comics we were making?- and offered to introduce me to him. Thought it would be nice since we both had the same name and it was such a _shame_ I hadn't met him yet."

"You shut her down?"

"Oh yeah. And then she dragged me aside for a nice little threatening session. You want to know what she said? I can quote it word for word!"

The astonished look on his boyfriend's face quickly made him realize that that probably wasn't a think he should sound that... _jovial_ about.

"Anyways, she threatened to turn the entire class against me so I wouldn't have any friends. I could've lived with that. I mean, I would've been utterly miserable, but I could've lived with it. Except she had something else up her sleeve."

Marc instantly realized what he meant. "She didn't."

Nathaniel laughed bitterly. "I didn't think you'd believe anything coming out of her mouth, but I couldn't take the chance. So I fell in line, like a good little minion. Figured out you were on Marinette's side too late for me to make a difference."

He shrugged in surrender. "So, what now?"

Marc's irises shone briefly, then turned vividly red. Not-Marc frowned at him. "I dunno. But I've definitely gotta talk to Eris about this."

…

Her akumatized brother stared at her, faking dismay extremely well. "Jules, you gotta give me something."

"You're akumatized! I don't have to tell you anything! You should be helping us defend Lila, not taking Marinette's side!"

"Jules-"

"She's a bully, Luka! She's been stealing Lila's designs, forcing her to go without making the teacher examine her medical condition-"

"Don't tell me you believe that."

Juleka stared at him. "O-of course I believe that!"

"Okay. Alternative theory- you had a thought that Lila might by lying... and you decided not to follow up on it because you couldn't bear to be ostracized from all your friends."

There was silence. Juleka bent forwards, black and purple locks obscuring her face. Then she spoke again, though her voice was trembling and threatening to break. "I just- ...Ever since Marinette broke my curse, I've been so happy. I've got friends, I started dating Rose- I'm still over the moon about that- and if I go against Lila- I could lose all that- I'm so horrible-"

~~The akuma~~ Luka brought a finger to her lips. "Jules, you're not horrible. You were scared."

"Marc and K-Kagami were probably scared. D-didn't stop them."

Luka shook his head. "Juleka, you have so much to lose! You can't blame yourself for being afraid- Lila had her hooks in too deep!"

But he straightened before Juleka could speak again. "Time's up."

His eyes abruptly flashed gold, and ~~the villain~~ Apollo stared at her, his face impassive. "Well. I'll certainly have to talk with Eris about this."

…

Alya howled as she struggled against the chains. "MARINETTE!"

"What did you expect, Alya? Ditching me for Lila, believing every word that comes out of her mouth, and you thought I wouldn't get akumatized?"

"That's a lie! You've been bullying Lila for so long! And for what? Over a boy? You've never made a single move on Adrien! Why shouldn't Lila take him?!"

"...you think this is all because I'm jealous?"

"Well look at what happened at that movie premiere! You teamed up with _Chloe!_ And it was all to stop Kagami from getting a date with Adrien! He's the motivation for everything you do! He's what your life revolves around!"

"Alya, I haven't been in love with Adrien for almost a month!"

But Alya wasn't listening. She was a reporter! She was an _amazing_ reporter! She was beloved by Paris! Her blog was _incredible_! Ladybug picked her to be Rena Rouge! **She was right, and that fact couldn't be changed!**

"Of course you're in love with Adrien! You can't just... not fall out of love with someone! And with the way you've been treating Lila-"

Marinette's eyes flashed suddenly violet. She lashed out and seized Alya's neck in an iron grip. "Shut. Up! I'm done hearing about Lila, and all these reasons you've come up with to not believe me!"

But that didn't make sense! Alya wasn't _coming up_ with reasons- she couldn't think of any that weren't _real!_ "Mari-"

A burning pain exploded through her gut, and Alya knew no more.

…

Eris was the last to exit her interrogation room. Prometheus and Apollo held Nathaniel and Juleka close. "Alright. Verdict?"

"This might sound crazy, but I say we spare Juleka. Eris, she was terrified of loosing everything she's gained over the last year- she can't be blamed for that."

Prometheus nodded in agreement. "Nath's pretty much the same situation. Lila had him under his thumb, same as Marinette."

Eris frowned. "I'm not sure..."

But then she looked at their faces. Nathaniel was trying to hide it, but he was clearly terrified. Juleka's eyes were shining with tears.

And so, with a sigh, she lowered her blade. "Prometheus, send them somewhere safe. Both of you hide out, and don't let anyone know that I've spared you. You won't be getting the Miraculous back- I’m not giving them to Hawk Moth, but I can’t trust you won’t try to fight us again if you have them."

Nathaniel visibly relaxed, seeming to throw aside his fear as he nodded. "Eh, not like we got to meet the Kwamis properly. I doubt they'll miss us."

"And you'll have to apologize to Marinette because I doubt she'll remember anything that happened during this... fiasco- Don't look at me like that, Juleka, I don't have any intentions of staying akumatized for the rest of my life. Got it?"

They both nodded.

Eris tilted her head to Prometheus. "Do it."

He scribbled something down and a red vortex swirled into existence. Apollo released Juleka and she was gone in an instant.

Nathaniel took a step, only for Prometheus to grab his wrist. "Nath, just... he loves you, okay?"

The redhead grinned. "I'm aware. He can tell me once this is all over."

And then he was gone, leaving Eris to groan. "Prometheus, c'mon. Save the mushy stuff for Marc, would ya?"

"I can't help him being incredibly cute! He really needs to start tying his hair back, though."

A warble caught their attention, and all present turned to Skolopendra, who held out a sheet of paper to Eris. She took it, and- "Nemesis is gone looking for the Butterfly man. Clever girl. C'mon, she might need reinforcements!"

…

Nemesis sprang nimbly across the rooftops of Paris, scouring for any kind of hint. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she wanted to help. And the best way she could do that was to find Hawk Moth so they could take him down.

She caught sight of a figure in dark green just in time for the shield to strike her in the gut.

Carapace marched towards her, fury in his face, the shield returning to his arm. "Where. Is. Rena?!"

Nemesis shrugged. "Oh, Cesaire? I imagine Eris has dealt with her by now-"

Carapace crashed his weapon into her face. Blood began to pour from a broken nose. "WHERE IS SHE?!"

_"Never."_

He raised his weapon again. Cat Noir sprang in front of him. "Carapace, don't! She's a victim!"

"So what?! _Rena's_ a victim, but I don't see you worried about her!"

A snort from the right, and Queen Bee strode over. "Let me handle this- I know how to deal with Tsurugi-"

A soundwave struck her and sent her flying.

Various other heroes sprang over the rooftops- Pegasus, King Monkey, Beagle, Miss Piggy, Bunnyx- they were only missing Storming Ox and Minimouse.

Unfortunately, they were facing a quartet of supervillains that could _handle_ all of those heroes, and that was without the giant squid/octopus sentimonster.

Nemesis conjured a blade and twirled it idly while Eris, Apollo, Prometheus and Skolopendra all prepared to back her up. "You want to know where Cesaire is? You go through us!"

Carapace led the charge with a furious shout, evidently having no problem with that.


	7. Conflict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also known as I’m not great at writing fight scenes.

Queen Bee apparently decided a Leeroy Jenkins maneuver was the best strategy as she charged straight at Eris. "Venom!"

Eris wordlessly stepped to the left, allowing Nemesis to intercept. The stinger immediately crashed against a (not flesh) blade to no affect. Queen Bee let out a wordless shriek and tried to stab Nemesis again, only for her to seize the heiress's arm and twist the stinger around. The blonde fell to the ground, paralyzed by her own powers.

Eris made the only possible reaction- she burst into laughter. "You know, I'd take her Miraculous, but I think she's more of a detriment on your side!"

Apollo flew over her head. "And evidently Carapace is the opposite. Prometheus?"

Carapace charged with a furious shout, only for Prometheus to open fire with a barrage of snowballs, of all things. The effectiveness couldn't be doubted, though, as the cold projectiles held him at bay not unlike a barrage of machine-gun fire.

King Monkey and Pegasus lunged at the same time, King Monkey summoning Uproar and receiving- wait, was that the same Lila bobblehead?

Eris smirked and let loose a barrage, only for hands to crash on either side of her head and a squeaky voice to let out a call for a Miraculous power. "Insight!"

Pink flared into her mind, swirling through all her rage and pain and suddenly something bright sprang in her mind- _Lila's so wonderful and kind and generous! She doesn't deserve any of this! I should surrender._

She twirled and slugged Miss Piggy in the gut, and Insight turned at once.

The power of the Pig Miraculous was an interesting one- it allowed one to influence another person with their thoughts. However, the wielder of that Miraculous would experience the emotions of whoever they tried to influence.

And Miss Piggy, who tried to see the best in everyone and everything to the point where she was blind to the bad, was incapable of dealing with Eris and her cold-blooded anger-fuelled hatred and knowledge that Lila had everything that was coming to her. And so, for that matter, did Hawk Moth.

The Pig heroine screamed, and Eris spun and impaled her. Purple light whirled, and in a matter of moments, a Pig Kwami was spiralling out of a now-inactive pearl anklet adorning a stone statue.

Cat Noir lunged, but he was too late as Eris blasted the new statue into bits of dust and rubble and snatched the Miraculous up, pocketing it with casual grace. And Nemesis sprang into action, crashing against Cat Noir in a whirlwind of metal.

King Monkey let out a shout and hurled his Uproar. Apollo sprang back into battle just in time, blasting it right back where it came from.

One Lila-bobblehead to the face later, the Monkey Miraculous at once went on the fritz, flashing between charged and camouflaged mode, the super suit similarly glitching out (minus the glamour, but given that Eris already knew it was Kim...), and to top it all, the staff started breaking into gold-and-chestnut pixels and fell in two pieces out of his hand.

Eris sprang and made their numbers more even, stabbing King Monkey through the side and smashing the statue's head to chunks of rock, grabbing the circlet and hooking it onto her belt.

Beagle and Pegasus were the next to charge, a horseshoe flying through the air just in time for the Dog heroine's flail to hammer it, blasting it at Prometheus only for Eris to shoot it down first, allowing him to open fire with a bevy of red blasts, distracting them long enough for Eris to spring again, blasting Beagle away and ripping the Horse Miraculous away from his face. Max stumbled, practically blind without his glasses, and a moment later he was petrified, Eris ripping her blade out of his side.

With five quick beeps, the Bee Miraculous ran out of power, Chloe falling to the ground as her transformation ended, Pollen spiralling free just in time for Beagle to grab her and run for it.

"NO!" Carapace hurled his shield desperately, but Skolopendra erupted to his full size, smashing it aside. "Both of you get back here, we need to keep fighting-"

"Cataclysm!"

The street exploded, and the last thing Eris saw of them was Cat Noir forcing the Turtle hero into Bunnyx's Burrow as he screamed in fury. "No! NO! GIVE ME ALYA! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH ALYA?! WE NEED TO KEEP FIGHTING-"

And then they were gone.

…

The moment they'd gotten back to base, Prometheus opened a new portal (Hawk Moth thought it was to a pocket dimension and Eris wasn't correcting him) and dropped the Miraculous right into Master Fu's waiting hands.

Nemesis smirked and lifted her mug of hot chocolate. "Seven heroes remaining. I propose a toast to our inevitable victory!"

Prometheus raised his hand. "We could still lose-"

_"I propose a toast to our inevitable victory."_

Apollo shrugged and leaned on Marinette's desk. "On the bright side, Hawk Moth's not getting those Miraculous.

Eris sighed. "We're still no closer to finding him, though."

"Well, what if you just ask where he is?"

Four heads turned to Sabine Cheng, who shrugged. "Well, he believes you've seized six of the Miraculous. Add a few more to that total and he'll probably let you bring them right to him. I have a hard time believing he'd refuse- he’s never come this close to getting his hands on the Miracle Box, even if they’re coming without the box itself."

Eris was silent, before a smirk blazed over her face. "I _like_ that idea! We just need to grab a few more Miraculous..."

She turned to Skolopendra. "We're gonna need a distraction. Your move, big guy."

The octopus warbled with glee.

…

Cat Noir sighed as he slumped down in his chair, completely exhausted from Carapace's ranting- he'd had to have Queen Bee Venom him just to get him to stop shouting, at which point the Turtle hero had just started sulking.

Team morale was sinking, even with the bringing in of Mountain Goat. Honestly, he wouldn't trust Wayhem with a Miraculous if it weren't for the fact that they desperately needed more numbers, and he didn't know who else he could trust.

And then Butler Jean unexpectedly walked into the room, just in time to tank morale even further. "Mademoiselle, I suggest you check the news immediately."

Mountain Goat pulled up the news app on his grappling hook (how he managed to do so was beyond Cat Noir since... well, it was a _grappling hook)_ , and the headline sprang out to them the moment he read it: _**Octopus sentimonster attacks Les Invalides!**_

The Cat hero groaned. "Alright, let's move out. If we're lucky, we'll catch one of them this time."


End file.
